Weekly Amount:
Running = 16 miles
Biking = 54 miles
Swimming = 4000 M or 2.5 miles
Total Amount: 72.5 miles
Overall Amount:
Running = 152.5 miles (89.5 miles to Las Vegas)
Biking = 478 miles (495 miles to Seattle)
Swimming = 45,200 meters or 31.7 miles (6.6 miles to Los Angeles)
Total = 659.5 miles (313.5 miles to Seattle)
My brother and I only had a few minutes to spare when we made it to the starting line. My parents, sister and good friend, Dusty Edwards were there for support. They got in positions with their cameras and my brother and I pretended to stretch prior to the race. The starting pistol went off and the race was underway. I immediately pushed my brother to knock him off-balance so that I could have a clear path ahead. From that point on, I never looked back.
I felt like I was keeping a really good pace, passing people left and right. Although, I began to tire after about the second mile and the last mile was a bit of a struggle as people began passing me telling me to keep going . . . I guess I looked like I was about to keel over or something.
I made it into the staging area and was well ahead of most of the runners, I quickly gathered my bike and sped off in my brand new Cannondale bicycle.
I told my brother I would pick him up around 830 to head to Los Alamitos from his house in Corona. Los Alamitos is close to an hour away, so I assumed that we would have plenty of time to make it to the military base . . . and boy, was I wrong.
It had rained heavily the night before and three roads were closed or altered on the way to my brother’s house when I arrived at 845. He was sitting in his garage waiting for me and we left almost immediately from his house. The drive to Los Alamitos lasted an hour, but the line to enter the base was enormous and moved slowly. I was nervous and my blood pressure was rising as I did not want to be the cause for us to miss our race. We had to run to the check-in tent which seemed like it was a mile away from where we parked.
We rushed to check-in and realized that we were one of the last people to do so. The staging area was probably another half-mile away from the check-in tent so we were rushing to accomplish everything on time and eventually did, but I was stressed out. The good thing about being late was I didn’t really have any time to think about the race, we just set our stuff up, rushed to the starting line and within minutes we were off.
Everything worked out in the end, but it sure was hectic. I learned a valuable lesson at The Race on the Base and will be sure taht I am always early to my future events to make sure that all goes according to plan and that I am nice and relaxed on race day. My brother played it off pretty smoothly, but he did tell me we should leave earlier. I’m not going to say I’m stubborn and Rocky would never say “I told you so.” But, if I were him I sure would have.
On March 18, 2011, my 30th birthday, I headed to Vegas for one of our heros, Michael Nunez’s bachelor party. My brother was also along for the ride and we had a variety of plans to train once in Vegas. As soon as we got on the bus; however, we knew that no training would be accomplished over the weekend.
We had a great time, about as much fun as twelve guys could have. And if you thought the Hangover was a good movie, let’s just say they could have made a franchise of movies about our trips to Vegas.
One thing I will point out about our trip to Vegas was that we did have the valet give us the wrong car, which we then drove around town, where we stumbled across the world’s largest pinball arcade. When we reached our destination, we had a nearly nude man hop out of the trunk right in front of the arcade.
In case you don’t believe me, here’s the picture to prove it . . .
My goal was to be in the best shape of my life at the age of 30 and although I am close, I did not quite make my goal. I went to the gym religiously for the first 20 days of the challenge, but my mental toughness began to wane and I copped out early giving myself one week to relax prior to my 30th Birthday.
I really feel like I have been doing an excellent job at keeping up with my training program. There have been a few hiccups here and there, but all in all I am getting more training in. So far, the most difficult part for me to stick to is completing the swimming portion of my training each week. The pool can become quite boring and the clorinated water has an effect on your body that does not want to make you stay in there for too long.
At 30, I can not say that I am in the best shape of my life, but I can say that I will be in the best shape of my life at the age of 30. That I can guarantee.
Weekly Amount:
Running = 15.5 miles
Biking = 52 miles
Swimming = 4000 M or 2.5 miles
Total Amount: 70 miles
Overall Amount:
Running = 136.5 miles (105.5 miles to Las Vegas)
Biking = 424 miles (549 miles to Seattle)
Swimming = 41,200 meters or 28.2 miles (9.1 miles to Los Angeles)
Total = 587 miles (456 miles to Seattle)
Accomplishments:
Ten weeks . . . training is easy.
Weekly Amount:
Running = 15 miles
Biking = 50 miles
Swimming = 4000 M or 2.5 miles
Total Amount: 67.5 miles
Overall Amount:
Running = 121 miles (121 miles to San Diego)
Biking = 372 miles (43 miles to San Francisco)
Swimming = 37,200 meters or 25.7 miles (11.6 miles to Los Angeles)
Total = 517 miles (456 miles to Seattle)
Accomplishments:
Zeb Runs to San Diego
Followers, I have a question for you . . .
When my brother and I first began talking about this blog, we were thinking of many creative ways to do things that would peak our readers’ interests. One thing we discussed was conducting challenges between my brother and myself. And one of the first challenges we thought of was if one of us lost a challenge then we would be forced to wear bicycle shorts.
The thought of wearing or seeing my brother wearing bicycle shorts was absolutely hilarious. It was the perfect punishment for failing to complete a challenge. Until I actually rode a bicycle.
I always wondered why bicyclists wore such skin tight clothing. It actually made me quite uncomfortable every time I encountered a bicyclist in their biker shorts. Why couldn’t they wear regular shorts like everyone else?
My brother and I took our first ride together along the Santa Ana River Trail, http://runningbrothers.com/category/zeb-and-rockys-big-adventure/ where we rode for 42 miles or so. At the end of the ride it became apparent why bicyclists wore bike shorts. They wanted to save their asses . . . literally. The following three days after our bike ride my rear end was on fire and no matter how uncool they are, I knew that I was going to have to invest in some spandex shorts.
Which brings me to my question. Do any of you have recommendations on the best type of bike shorts to buy? I am training for an Ironman and need some shorts that will protect my rear end. I could really use your help in deciding what type of bike shorts I get my hands on.
If you need an incentive . . . the faster you help me locate the best bike shorts, the faster I can proceed with my bicycle shorts photo shoot.
I have 11 days to get into the best shape of my life and surprisingly, I might actually get there. I have been eating much more frequently and heartily. My appetite has picked up because I am doing a lot of strength exercising and I’m drinking a lot of water. I still don’t think I’m in the best shape I have ever been. One thing that I have always wanted was 6-pack abs and at one point in my life I was close. I remember flexing in the mirror, checking to see if I had them and they were there but only when I flexed.
Now, when I flex, my 6-pack abs do not show up, but I have trimmed down a lot and am looking very healthy. So, I’m going to work out hardcore on cardio and ab workouts and we’ll see if I can get that 6-pack coming throught in the next 10 days.
One half marathon and one sprint triathalon down and I am still keeping true to my New Years Resolution.
Weekly Amount:
Running = 14.5 miles
Biking = 49 miles
Swimming = 4000 M or 2.5 miles
Total Amount: 66 miles
Overall Amount:
Running = 106 miles (5 miles to San Diego)
Biking = 322 miles (93 miles to San Francisco)
Swimming = 33,200 meters or 23.2 miles (14.1 miles to Los Angeles)
Total = 449.5 miles (523.5 miles to Seattle)
Accomplishments: